Scottish Executive

Broadcasting

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to attract film and television production to Scotland and what financial resources are being made available in each of the next five years to achieve this objective.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive, through Scottish Screen, makes every effort to attract film and television production to Scotland. We welcome the recent report of the Screen Industries Summit Group recommending ways of increasing such production activity.

  Grant-in-Aid to Scottish Screen is shown in the following table:

  

Year
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08


Grant-in-Aid (£ million)
2.875
2.875
2.975
3.075



  In addition, the Scottish Executive is considering the recommendation of the Screen Industries Summit Group to establish a specific funding framework to attract big-budget films to shoot in Scotland.

  As regards television production, the Executive directly funds Gaelic television production through the Gaelic Media Service (GMS). Grant-in-Aid to the GMS is shown in the following table:

  

Year
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08


Grant-in-Aid (£ million)
8.5
8.5
8.7
8.9



  In addition, the Executive is seeking to influence the current reviews of the BBC’s charter and of Public Service Broadcasting arrangements with a view to raising Scotland’s share of television network production funded from other sources.

Communities

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond formally to the issues raised at the Small Towns under Threat conference on 17 September 2004 at Tweed Horizons, Newtown St. Boswells.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive has not been asked to respond formally to the issues raised at the Small Towns Under Threat conference. However, recognising the value of small towns, we are working to improve and develop on our understanding of the issues related to growth and sustainability. For example, an Executive-commissioned study on the economic linkages between small towns and their surrounding rural areas is due to be published in early 2005.

Diabetes

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated average annual cost is of treating (a) diabetic and (b) non-diabetic people in the acute sector.

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated total annual cost is of care for people with type 2 diabetes.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.

Domestic Abuse

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases involving domestic abuse resulted in convictions in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson: Domestic abuse could be prosecuted under a variety of charges, such as assault. However, in the convictions data held centrally, such cases cannot be separately identified from other offenders convicted of these offences. The latest available statistics on incidents of domestic abuse were published in November 2003 in a statistical bulletin Domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland, 2002 (Bib. number 30075). Table 13 in this bulletin provides figures for each police force area on the number of identified perpetrators of crimes or offences of domestic abuse cleared up by the police who were referred to the Procurator Fiscal.

Education

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to increase the number of teachers who specialise in chemistry.

Peter Peacock: Entrants to chemistry Postgraduate Certificate in Education Courses this year are up by 15% compared to last year as part of the build towards the general commitment in the Partnership for a Better Scotland to increase teacher numbers to 53,000 by 2007.

  Notwithstanding this increase there is no evidence from local authorities (LAs) of a shortage in teachers who specialise in chemistry. The Scottish Executive carries out an annual teacher work force planning exercise to ensure at a national level the number of teachers leaving the profession is balanced by sufficient numbers joining. This takes into account factors such as the age profile of the profession; changing pupil numbers; numbers of new entrants to the profession and those leaving due to resignation, retirement etc.

  As part of the exercise subject specialisms are prioritised, with universities having flexibility to adjust recruitment levels to subjects in order to accommodate localised demand. Factors which are considered in the prioritisation exercise include vacancy levels reported by LAs and the demand from LAs for probationer teachers in each sector/subject. The system is proving itself successful in helping match supply with demand.

Education

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ring-fence funding for the improvement of science laboratories in secondary schools.

Peter Peacock: In line with the Science Strategy, local authorities have been allocated £10 million over three years from 2003-04. This additional funding will enable teachers to undertake high-quality professional updating in science as well as providing additional laboratory and other equipment for schools.

  We are providing financial support to local authorities for major investment in the improvement of school buildings under public private partnerships, the Schools Fund, and the prudential framework, providing considerable scope for authorities to improve school science laboratories on the principle which applies to school building work generally that it is for the local authorities to determine the detailed local priorities.

Energy

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what schemes, supported by its departments, are available for applicants seeking assistance for the development of energy-related projects, broken down by department.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive resources a broad range of initiatives to assist Scottish businesses, and research and development. Some of this assistance is available to a broad range of projects (including energy projects), other initiatives are specifically targeted on energy projects. These are listed below. In addition to the listed initiatives the Executive also resources initiatives aimed at improving energy efficiency in the business, domestic and public sectors.

  General business and R & D support measures

  Regional Selective Assistance is the main national scheme of financial assistance to industry, aimed at encouraging investment and job creation in assisted areas Scotland. It can help businesses across a wide range of sectors, including energy-related projects, that meet the criteria of the scheme.

  SMART, SPUR and SPUR plus are grant schemes which assist businesses to improve their competitiveness by developing new, highly innovative and commercially viable products or processes involving a significant technological advance for the UK industry and other sectors.

  SCORE is an R&D support scheme to help Scottish–based small- to medium-sized enterprises improve their competitiveness by developing new products and processes. SCORE supports projects involving R&D jointly undertaken between small and medium sized businesses and public sector research bodies such as Higher Education institutes, research institutes, and NHS Trusts.

  SCOTTISH ENTERPRISE

  The Scottish Executive’s ETLLD funds Scottish Enterprise to deliver the following programmes:

  Proof of Concept Fund covers innovation and R&D projects. It supports the pre-commercialisation of leading-edge technologies emerging from Scotland's universities, research institutes and NHS Trusts. It helps researchers to export their ideas and inventions from the lab to the global marketplace.

  Royal Society for Edinburgh/Scottish Enterprise. Enterprise Fellowships covers Innovation and Research and Development projects. It supports post-graduate students or researchers at a Scottish University or Research Institute.

  Co-Investment Fund covers Innovation and Research and Development. The Scottish Co-investment Fund invests only in partnership with private sector investors. The investment decisions are made by those private sector partners. Businesses may apply.

  Specific Energy Initiatives

  The Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI) offers communities and householders assistance with installation of viable renewable energy technologies e.g. heat pumps, solar panels, biomass heating, wind turbines, micro hydro generation etc.

  SCOTTISH ENTERPRISE

  The Scottish Executive’s ETLLD funds Scottish Enterprise to deliver the following programme:

  ITI Energy identifies, develops and successfully commercialises new, energy and energy related technologies. It works with academia, industry, establishes knowledge networks, and commercialises intellectual property (although it is not necessarily a funding source).

  CARBON TRUST

  The Scottish Executive’s ETLLD funds the Carbon Trust to deliver the following initiatives;

  Research, Development and Demonstration funding. This initiative targets and supports ground-breaking projects that demonstrate a potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

  Incubator Programme can refer potential candidates, who have real commercial and technical promise, into co-funded incubators. The incubators provide strategic and business development consultancy, advice on corporate finance, mentoring for the management team, energy-related market research and guidance on technical support.

  Venture Capital scheme supports applicants who have a technology that has commercial potential, can demonstrate its feasibility and have potential co-investors in place.

  Low Carbon Innovation Programme invests in and supports the development of new and innovative low carbon technologies, including energy efficiency technologies, low carbon energy supplies and low carbon processes.

Enterprise

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it proposes to take in light of the recent Policy and Financial Management Review (PFMR) of the Scottish Industrial Development Advisory Board (SIDAB).

Mr Jim Wallace: The review concluded that SIDAB makes a valuable contribution to the consideration of large Regional Selective Assistance cases and should continue as an non-departmental public body. However, some minor changes to operating practices were recommended and these are currently being implemented.

  Copies of the SIDAB PFMR have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34419).

Environment

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent data available is for levels of radiation, in particular caesium 137, in samples of soil, sheep and cattle outside the perimeter fence of Hunterston power station.

Ross Finnie: Results of terrestrial monitoring of radioactivity can be found in the Radioactivity in Food and the Environment reports, a report prepared jointly by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Food Standards Agency. The report is available on the websites of these organisations and a copy has also been lodged with the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34135).

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the extent to which the decrease in fishing capacity adopted by countries fishing each North Sea fisheries zone correlates with the level of cod caught by each member state in each zone in order to identify the extent to which each national white fish fleet has contributed to the protection of cod stocks.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has access to the EU Fleet vessel register and information on fish catches made by each member state, through the European Union’s Fisheries Data Exchange System (FIDES) and landings data provided by member states to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). Notes of the total fleet size in each relevant member state and the amount of cod landed by each of these member states over the past three years are provided. However, figures showing the number of vessels that specifically contribute to the volume of cod landings recorded by each member state are not available. The available figures on cod catches relate only to official landings data and do not necessarily take account of, for example, discarded fish or illegal landings. Furthermore, the volume of official landings is not only a product of the amount of fishing effort deployed each year, but also reflects the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) set for cod in each of those years. Assumptions based on correlations between the two data sets would therefore be potentially misleading.

  Table 1: Total Number of Vessels Registered in EU Member States Fishing in North Sea Fishing Zones (2001-03)

  

Member State
No. of vessels 2001
No. of vessels 2002
No. of vessels 2003


Belgium
130
130
125


Denmark
4,050
3,874
3,581


France
7,959
8,088
8,082


Germany
2,275
2,247
2,212


Netherlands
994
932
949


Poland
N/A
N/A
N/A


Sweden
1,847
1,820
1,714


UK
7,570
7,379
7,118



  Table 2: Nominal Landings (in Tonnes) of Cod in ICES Areas IIIa, IV and VIId (2001-03), as Officially Reported to ICES

  

Member State
Landings 2001
Landings 2002
Landings 2003


Belgium
2,563
2,667
1,536


Denmark
14,259
14,546
7,746


France
2,394
3,138
1,744


Germany
1,842
2,101
2,048


Netherlands
3,591
4,713
2,341


Poland
18
39
35


Sweden
1,696
2,179
761


UK
19,976
18,673
10,186

Fuel Poverty

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11607 by Malcolm Chisholm on 10 November 2004 and to the statement to the Communities Committee by the Minister for Communities that "the rate of fuel poverty was halved between 1996 and 2002 but there has been further progress since then" ( Official Report c 1384), what progress has been made in respect of levels of fuel poverty since 2002.

Malcolm Chisholm: In fact the level of fuel poverty was more than halved between 1996 and 2002 according to the Scottish House Condition Survey. Further progress has been made since then in the context of the Warm Deal and the central heating programme.

Fuel Poverty

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by the Minister for Communities on 4 November 2004 regarding his correspondence with the power companies on fuel charges for pensioners, which companies have responded and what the responses were.

Malcolm Chisholm: Two of the three fuel supply companies have requested meetings and these will be held in the near future.

Further Education

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in respect of the cost benchmarking exercise carried out for the Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC) by KPMG covering all colleges; how data gathered as part of the exercise will be used by the SFEFC, and how much of the data will be published and when.

Mr Jim Wallace: The cost benchmarking exercise commissioned by SFEFC represents an important element of its campaign for financial security within the sector. Progress to date is as planned and the first outputs from the first stage of the exercise were provided to colleges in July 2004.

  Following a period of testing and data cleansing, SFEFC will publish high-level benchmarks for all colleges around July 2005.

  It is the intention that cost benchmarking becomes embedded within colleges as an established management tool to be used at both the strategic and operational level.

Further Education

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in respect of the area mapping exercise carried out for the Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC) by DTZ Pieda Consulting covering all colleges; how data gathered as part of the exercise will be used by the SFEFC, and how much of the data will be published and when.

Mr Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answers to questions S2W-8716 and S2W-8721, answered on 16 June 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Further and Higher Education

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many managers there are at each level in colleges of the UHI Millennium Institute.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is not held centrally. Staffing and grading issues are a matter for individual colleges.

Further and Higher Education

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated by the UHI Millennium Institute since its inception to colleges and where any clawbacks of this funding have been instigated by the institute.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is not held centrally. Higher Education institutions are autonomous bodies, responsible for their own financial management. Information will be available from the UHI Millennium Institute.

Further and Higher Education

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which boards of management of colleges of the UHI Millennium Institute do not have a representative from the local authority or enterprise company.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 requires boards of management of incorporated further education colleges to include in their membership a person nominated by the local enterprise company for the area in which the college is located. The act makes no such requirement in relation to representatives of local authorities. Information is not held centrally on the actual composition of boards of management at any given time.

Further and Higher Education

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has recorded the number of people who have acquired European Computer Driving Licences through further and higher education colleges and, if so, how many people have gained the qualification in each year since its inception, broken down by college.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive holds information on the number of enrolments on courses by level of qualification and subject studied. However, precise information on course titles are not recorded systematically enough to allow robust estimates on individual qualifications such as this to be produced.

Further and Higher Education

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many students are studying (a) further and (b) higher education courses.

Mr Jim Wallace: Estimates of actual student numbers studying further education courses are not available. Data on the number of enrolments on such courses are available.

  In 2002-03, the latest year for which data is currently available, there were 430,511 enrolments on further education courses in Scotland and 267,023 students enrolled on higher education (HE) courses.

  The number of students enrolled on further education (FE) courses is likely to be significantly lower than the number of enrolments as students often enrol on more than one course in an academic year.

  The figure given for the number of students on HE courses is slightly lower than that published on 20 May 2004 in the Scottish Executive statistics publication Students in Higher Education In Scotland: 2002-03. This is due to a revision to data provided by SFEFC on the number of HE students at FE colleges following the original publication of 2003-04 figures.

Further and Higher Education

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which further and higher education colleges were in (a) surplus and (b) deficit at the end of the last financial year.

Mr Jim Wallace: The tables show which further and higher education institutions reported as operating and underlying surplus/(deficit) for 2002-03, the latest year for which figures are available.

  Further Education Colleges

  

 
College

*Operating Surplus/(Deficit)
2002-03
(£000)
**Underlying Operating Surplus/(Deficit)
2002-03
(£000)


Aberdeen College
(12)
248


Angus College
71
227


Anniesland College
(40)
(159)


Ayr College
290
11


Banff and Buchan College
1
3


Barony College
1
1


Borders College
13
13


Cardonald College
117
117


Central College of Commerce
(82)
30


Clackmannan College
(443)
(313)


Clydebank College
224
332


Coatbridge College
(434)
(434)


Cumbernauld College
(286)
(231)


Dumfries and Galloway
10
25


Dundee College
(684)
445


Edinburgh's Telford College
(767)
450


Elmwood College
2
160


Falkirk College
(694)
(23)


Fife College
137
350


Glasgow College of Building and Printing
328
78


Glasgow College of Food Technology
(1,979)
(298)


Glasgow College of Nautical Studies
482
326


Glenrothes College
18
152


Inverness College
(219)
(183)


James Watt College
351
132


Jewel and Esk Valley College
44
103


John Wheatley College
591
481


Kilmarnock College
28
(373)


Langside College
258
(82)


Lauder College
(165)
55


Lews Castle College
(561)
(431)


Moray College
(321)
133


Motherwell College
645
598


North Glasgow College
(1,917)
390


Oatridge Agricultural College
(27)
(27)


Perth College
13
263


Reid Kerr College
279
244


South Lanarkshire College
0
0


Stevenson College
561
696


Stow College
314
444


The North Highland College
(113)
(93)


West Lothian College
(1,523)
(1,431)


***Non-incorporated colleges
 
 


Newbattle Abbey College
(48)
n/a


SMO
(22)
n/a



  Source: SFEFC.

  The information requested is not available for Orkney College and Shetland College as the results for both colleges are consolidated in the accounts produced for their respective local authority.

  Higher Education Institutions

  

Institution
 
*Operating Surplus/(Deficit)
2002-03
(£000)
**Underlying Operating Surplus/(Deficit)
2002-03
(£000)


Aberdeen
(84)
37


Abertay
(1,640)
49


Bell College
246
246


Dundee
791
2,015


ECA
186
186


Edinburgh 
1,712
1,712


GCU
3,452
3,452


Glasgow
(222)
2,146


GSA
(700)
9


Heriot-Watt
799
2,200


Napier
5,506
7,194


Paisley
(291)
81


QMUC
231
390


RGU
(416)
953


RSAMD
323
157


St Andrews
281
281


Stirling
2,204
4,193


Strathclyde
235
3,809


UHI Millennium Institute
(10)
(10)



  Source: SHEFC.

  Notes:

  *Surplus/(deficit) on continuing operations after depreciation of tangible fixed assets at valuation and before tax.

  **The Underlying operating surplus/(deficit) is defined as - The surplus/(deficit) on continuing activities, after depreciation of assets at valuation and before disposal of assets and tax, adjusted for one-off, non-recurrent items.

  ***The underlying operating position is not produced by the non-incorporated colleges, who are subject to separate financial reporting arrangements.

General Practitioners

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the appeal in respect of the filling of the vacancy for a single GP practice at the Rowallan Medical Centre in Blantyre was dealt with under the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 or the General Medical Services (Transitional and Other Ancillary Provisions) (Scotland) Order 2004; if it was dealt with under the 1995 regulations, why the Executive advised that it was dealt with under the 2004 order; if it was dealt with under the 2004 order why the Executive previously advised that it was dealt with under the 1995 regulations, and whether the Executive is satisfied with the legality of the different advice it has given on this matter.

Mr Andy Kerr: Both the NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 and the General Medical Services (Transitional and Other Ancillary Provisions) (Scotland) Order 2004 applied to the appeal. The appeal was made on 9 February 2004 and fell to be considered under the 1995 regulations. The appeal was determined on 14 May 2004 by which time the 1995 regulations had been revoked. The 2004 order came into effect on 1 April and provided that for any appeal outstanding on that date the provisions in the 1995 regulations would remain in force until the appeal was dealt with.

  No differing advice has been given.

General Practitioners

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 or the current rules and regulations on the appointment of a GP were applied in the composition and voting procedures for the area medical committee that appointed Dr Gilchrist to fill the single GP vacancy at the Rowallan Medical Centre in Blantyre and whether it is satisfied that the voting procedures adopted at the relevant meeting of the Lanarkshire Area Medical Committee were legally competent.

Mr Andy Kerr: The method by which doctors are selected for appointment as a GP is a matter for each NHS board. In the case of Dr Gilchrist applications were considered in January and August 2004 in terms of the NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995. Those regulations placed a requirement on a NHS board to select a candidate when more than one application is received from registered medical practitioners but did not specify how that is to be done. The Area Medical Committee did not make the selections. The approach adopted by Lanarkshire NHS board was to delegate responsibility for general medical services to the Lanarkshire Primary Care Medical Committee which comprised representatives of the board, the Area Medical Committee, representing the profession, and others.

General Practitioners

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a copy of the contract between Dr Gilchrist and NHS Lanarkshire in respect of the single GP practice at the Rowallan Medical Centre in Blantyre available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Mr Andy Kerr: The contract is between NHS Lanarkshire and the practice. Any request for a copy should be made to either of the parties to the contract.

General Practitioners

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 allow for a single GP practice vacancy to be filled by a multi-practice vacancy at the time of appointment.

Mr Andy Kerr: Yes. It is a matter for the individual GP, either newly appointed or otherwise, whether to practise single-handed or with other GPs.

General Practitioners

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is legally competent for it to refuse to allow the failed applicant for the vacancy at the single GP practice at Rowallan Medical Centre in Blantyre the right of appeal and whether such refusal is consistent with human rights legislation.

Mr Andy Kerr: In any case where a NHS board reconsiders applications for a medical practice vacancy under the provisions of the NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995, which are kept in force by the General Medical Services (Transitional and Other Ancillary Provisions) (Scotland) Order 2004, so that cases which were in process when the 1995 regulations were revoked can be taken to a conclusion under the new GMS contract arrangements, it is required to select the candidate it wishes to provide services for the patients. The 2004 order, however, has no provisions so that an appeal can be made against such a selection.

  Both the order and the NHS (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 are held to be compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights.

General Practitioners

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what rules govern the composition of area medical committees and what approval is required from the Executive for the composition of such committees.

Mr Andy Kerr: The composition of area medical committees is governed by Section 9 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. Under this section, a NHS board is obliged to recognise a committee as the area medical committee if it is satisfied that such a committee is representative of the medical practitioners within the board area. No approval is required from the Executive for the composition of area medical committees.

General Practitioners

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that it was legally competent for those people who were members of the area medical committee that nominated the Suckle practice to the Rowallan Medical Centre single practice vacancy in Blantyre to be subsequently involved in the rerun appointment process for that position and whether that process was consistent with employment law and human rights legislation.

Mr Andy Kerr: The way in which the successful candidate was selected was a matter for Lanarkshire NHS board.

General Practitioners

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that it is legally competent for the new appointee to the single GP practice at the Rowallan Medical Centre in Blantyre to close the practice and integrate it within the Suckle practice.

Mr Andy Kerr: Yes. The NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 specifically provided that a NHS board which was required to select a candidate for a medical practice vacancy could take into account any wish by the candidate to practise with other doctors. In terms of the General Medical Services (Transitional and Other Ancillary Provisions) (Scotland) Order 2004 the successful candidate was offered a GMS contract. The NHS (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 provide that individual medical practitioners who hold a contract can enter into a new contract in the name of a partnership. Similarly, partnerships may convert to contracts with individuals.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive where documents for the period 1979 to 1987 pertaining to contaminated blood products used in transfusions that resulted in haemophiliacs becoming HIV-infected are located and whether these documents are subject to public interest immunity and, if so, what the reasons are and, if not, how these documents may be accessed.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive holds some documents relevant to this issue and some documents will have been held by the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and by NHS boards.

  As such, any requests for documentation should be addressed to the relevant organisation. These will be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 on access to information held by Scottish Public Authorities which comes into effect from 1 January 2005.

Housing

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Housing Improvement Task Force’s proposed shared equity home ownership scheme will be put in place.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Housing Improvement Task Force made recommendations about the ways in which local authorities should be able to assist people who have difficulty in carrying out necessary repairs and improvements to their homes. One option proposed was that where a person had a low income and a high level of equity in a property, an equity loan could fund such works. We are currently considering, in the light of the response to the consultation paper Maintaining Houses, Preserving Homes,  whether and how to make provision in the forthcoming Housing Bill include powers for local authorities to make such loans. We are also examining the scope for making this type of lending available through other means.

  In relation to home ownership, a discussion paper outlining the Scottish Executive's proposals for introducing a range of shared equity tenure models was published by Communities Scotland on 23 November. A copy is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34524).

Housing

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address the issue of affordable housing on the Isle of Arran and when such action will result in there being sufficient affordable housing on the island.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  As part of a substantially increased programme of funding for affordable housing in rural areas, Communities Scotland will invest £1.580 million in the Isle of Arran in 2004-05.

  Work is currently underway on a project to provide eight houses for rent, and it is expected that work will start shortly on a further two projects providing a total of 14 houses for rent.

  A Rural Home Ownership Grant is assisting a family to construct their own home.

  The requirement for affordable housing will be informed by North Ayrshire Council's Local Housing Strategy and currently opportunities are being pursued to acquire sites suitable for future development.

International Relations

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the funds made available to promote Scotland in France during the centenary year of the Entente Cordiale have been fully utilised.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: Scottish ministers approved a budget of up to £500,000 to support the Scottish celebrations of the centenary of the Entente Cordiale, of which £337,889 has been spent so far in direct support of the Scottish Entente Cordiale programme.

International Relations

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what Scottish art forms have been supported with funds earmarked for performances and exhibitions in France during the centenary year of the Entente Cordiale.

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in which venues in France performances and exhibitions of Scottish art forms have taken place during the centenary year of the Entente Cordiale.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: Information including art forms and venues in France, for all events organised as part of the Entente Cordiale centenary celebrations, can be found on the Scottish Executive’s website for the centenary programme: www.ententecordialescotland.org.uk .

Justice

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many crimes fell into the category of offences aggravated by religious prejudice in the six-month period from June 2003 to February 2004, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson: This level of detail is not available from the recorded crime statistics collected centrally. Information on offence aggravators is included within the data collected centrally on court convictions, but statistics for 2003 and later are not yet available.

NHS Boards

The following question was not answered on 28 October 2004 in error:

NHS Boards

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take to improve the accountability of NHS boards to ministers and MSPs.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS boards are accountable through ministers to the Parliament. To strengthen this, I recently announced that I would personally hold the annual performance review meeting for each health board in Scotland and that these meetings would take place in public. It is also important that we have strong local accountability and I want the NHS to be more open with local people. We now require that health boards must deliver improved public involvement and co-operate on a regional level.

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether prison officers employed at "bridging the gap" prisons will have the same employment rights as officers at other Scottish Prison Service prisons and, if not, what the differences in rights will be.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The terms of employment of prison officers employed at any SPS site are and will be subject to negotiation between the SPS and the Prison Officers’ Association (Scotland).

Prisoner Escorts

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to questions S2W-7810 and S2W-8651 by Cathy Jamieson on 20 May and 8 June 2004 respectively, how many police officers have now been redeployed as a result of the first phase of the contracting-out of prisoner escort and court custody services and why information on the number redeployed up to 8 June 2004 was not provided in the answer to question S2W-8651.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any police hours have been freed up so far as a result of the operation of the Reliance contract.

Cathy Jamieson: Phase 1 of the prisoner escort and court custody service contract covers the Glasgow and District area. Phase 2B covers the remainder of the Strathclyde area. I understand that Strathclyde Police has now deployed around 130 officers in total. The figure for Phase 1 on its own is not available.

Research

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent per capita on research and development in each of the last three years, shown also as a percentage of GDP, and what information it has in respect of equivalent figures for (a) the United Kingdom and (b) each other member state of the European Union.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information is available from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its members and from the European Union for those EU countries that are not members of the OECD. The latest figures available for Scotland are for 2002, taken from the Scottish Executive report Business Enterprise Research and Development 2002:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/enterprise/berd02-00.asp.

  The following table contains the information, converted into pounds sterling using purchasing power equivalents for OECD members and commercial exchange rates for the other countries.

  Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) per Capita and as a Percentage of GDP – 2000-02

  

Country
Per Capita Expenditure (GERD/Population)
(£)
GERD as % of GDP


2000
2001
2002
2000
2001
2002


Scotland 
213
246
289
1.40
1.57
1.75


United Kingdom
298
313
330
1.84
1.86
1.88


Austria
328
340
348
1.86
1.92
1.93


Belgium
338
372
..
2.04
2.17
..


Cyprus1
23
25
..
0.25
0.26
..


Czech Republic
117
122
124
1.33
1.30
1.30


Denmark
..
443
465
..
2.40
2.52


Estonia1
17
23
..
0.75
0.66
..


Finland
552
567
576
3.40
3.41
3.46


France
364
385
389
2.18
2.23
2.20


Germany
397
403
412
2.49
2.51
2.52


Greece
..
72
..
..
0.65
..


Hungary
62
78
90
0.80
0.95
1.02


Ireland
208
217
..
1.15
1.15
..


Italy
169
178
..
1.07
1.11
..


Latvia1
10
10
..
0.40
0.48
0.44


Lithuania1
13
17
..
0.52
0.60
0.68


Luxembourg
534
..
..
1.71
..
..


Malta1
..
..
..
..
..
..


Netherlands
330
342
..
1.90
1.89
..


Poland
43
42
40
0.66
0.64
0.59


Portugal
88
96
108
0.80
0.85
0.93


Slovak Republic
44
46
45
0.65
0.64
0.06


Slovenia1
93
110
..
1.51
1.52
..


Spain
123
129
146
0.94
0.95
1.03


Sweden
..
725
..
..
4.27
..



  Sources:

  OECD Main Science and Technology Indicators published in May 2004 ISSN - 1011-792X- No. 53593 2004.

  Eurostat Statistics on Science and Technology in Europe 1991 to 2002 ISBN 92-894-6823-8.

  Business Enterprise Research and Development in Scotland 2002, Scottish Executive.

  GRO(Scotland) Mid-year population estimates.

  ONS Population Trends 117 Autumn 2004.

  Exchange rates £ to Euros www.oanda.com.

  Notes:

  1. : Data for these countries are not available from OECD: these figures have been taken from Eurostat and converted to £ sterling.

  .. : Not available.

Roads

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support the creation of a bypass of Nairn on the A96 and, if so, what steps it will take to achieve this and within what timescale.

Nicol Stephen: A bypass for Nairn is not currently part of the motorway and trunk roads programme.

Roads

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from either the Highland Council or HITRANS in respect of a bypass of Nairn on the A96.

Nicol Stephen: I am not aware of having received any representations on this matter from either the Highland Council or the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS).

Roads

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will carry out any study into the need for a bypass of Nairn on the A96 and whether it will invite the local enterprise company to consider the matter.

Nicol Stephen: There are no current plans to carry out such a study.

Roads

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether measures should be taken by it, or any other body, to preserve a possible route for a bypass of Nairn on the A96, in light of any possibility that further development to the south of Nairn would make such a bypass more difficult and expensive to construct in future.

Nicol Stephen: Decisions in relation to land use and development plans are a matter for the Highland Council.

Scottish Executive Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many days were lost in each (a) department, (b) agency and (c) non-departmental public body (NDPB) through staff sickness in each financial year since 1999; what the average annual number of days lost per employee was as a result of sickness in those years, and what the cost was of such time lost.

Mr Tom McCabe: The details are set out in the following tables for the years for which records are available. It should be noted that information about sickness rates for all NDPBs is not held centrally. The estimated costs are derived from total working days lost through sickness multiplied by an average daily salary for a financial year.

  Sickness Absence and Salary Costs in the Scottish Executive Core Departments 1999-2004

  TABLE A: Total days of sickness absence

  

 
Total Sick Days


 
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


SE Core Department
 


Legal and Parliamentary Services
-
-
-
1,053
1,133


Office of the Permanent Secretary
-
5,477
4,599
5,438
5,545


SE Development Department
-
2,671
2,118
1,930
2,081


SE Education Department
-
2,036
1,253
1,598
1,746


SE Environment and Rural Affairs Department
-
5,646
4,401
6,127
7,031


SE Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department
-
2,093
1,413
1,989
3,243


SE Finance and Central Services Department
-
1,989
1,858
3,035
3,821


SE Health Department
-
1,670
1,228
1,782
2,327


SE Justice Department 
-
955
688
965
1,298


Centrally Managed Staff (incl. Long Term Sick)
-
5,077
5,904
8,155
7,393


Core departments Total 
29,874
27,611
23,460
32,070
35,615


Agencies/other departments
 


Accountants in Bankruptcy
-
-
-
672
440


Communities Scotland
-
-
-
-
2,262


Courts Group
-
-
-
323
352


Crofters Commission
826
658
436
360
338


Fisheries Research Services
988
1,272
1,276
2,318
2,792


General Register Office Scotland
1838
1,611
1,271
2,096
2,259


HMI Schools
-
-
540
875
1,225


National Archives of Scotland
1107
1151
907
1,471
1,961


Scottish Agricultural Science Agency
1010
607
722
562
1,116


Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency
1778
2,202
1,997
2,532
1,585


Scottish Public Pensions Agency
2239
1,897
1,355
2,312
2,027


Student Awards Agency for Scotland
1602
921
789
1,317
1,110


NDPBs for which sickness data are held
 


Deer Commission
178
199
125
135
38


Local Government Boundary Commission
100
86
35
46
34


Total for Agencies/Other/NDPBs
11,664
10,601
9,451
15,018
17,536



  TABLE B: Average Sickness Days

  

 
Average Sickness (days)


 
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


SE Core Department
 


Legal and Parliamentary Services
-
-
-
5.8
6.0


Office of the Permanent Secretary
-
7.3
6.1
7.3
7.2


SE Development Department
-
5.1
3.6
3.9
6.5


SE Education Department
-
5.1
4.1
5.7
6.1


SE Environment and Rural Affairs Department
-
5.4
4.0
5.5
6.3


SE Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department
-
6.5
4.1
5.7
6.1


SE Finance and Central Services Department
-
4.7
3.7
5.3
6.5


SE Health Department
-
4.8
3.2
4.5
5.6


SE Justice Department 
-
3.9
3.0
4.0
4.9


Centrally Managed Staff (incl. Long Term Sick)
-
83.2
72.9
81.6
93.6


Average for all Core Departments 
7.4
6.7
5.5
7.2
7.8


Agencies/other departments







Accountants in Bankruptcy
-
 - 
 - 
8.1
6.5


Communities Scotland
-
 - 
 - 
 - 
5.9


Courts Group
-
 - 
 - 
6.9
8.0


Crofters Commission
12.1
11.7
7.6
6.5
6.1


Fisheries Research Services
3.8
4.5
4.1
7.0
8.2


General Register Office Scotland
7.6
6.7
5.3
9.4
10.5


HMI Schools
-
 - 
3.6
5.7
7.2


National Archives of Scotland
8.7
8.9
6.5
9.5
12.6


Scottish Agricultural Science Agency
7.6
4.5
5.0
4.0
7.9


Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency
6.3
8.2
7.3
9.3
5.7


Scottish Public Pensions Agency
13.9
10.8
8.0
9.6
9.0


Student Awards Agency for Scotland
12.7
6.5
5.6
9.8
8.3


NDPBs for which sickness data are held
 
 
 
 >
 


Deer Commission
10.4
11.1
6.9
7.9
1.9


Local Government Boundary Commission
16.7
17.1
3.9
6.6
4.3


Average for all for Agencies/Other/NDPBs
8.2
7.3
5.7
8.0
7.8



  TABLE C: Estimated Salary Cost

  

 
Estimated Total Salary Cost


 
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


SE Core Department







Legal and Parliamentary Services
-
 - 
 - 
£94,521 
£110,884 


Office of the Permanent Secretary
-
 £445,602 
£380,862 
£488,089 
£542,625 


SE Development Department
-
 £217,288 
£175,420 
£173,243 
£203,613 


SE Education Department
-
 £165,662 
£103,736 
£143,397 
£170,827 


SE Environment and Rural Affairs Department
-
 £459,353 
£364,505 
£549,980 
£688,056 


SE Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department
-
 £170,300 
£116,988 
£178,539 
£317,335 


SE Finance and Central Services Department
-
 £161,797 
£153,844 
£272,387 
£373,902 


SE Health Department
-
 £135,841 
£101,707 
£159,958 
£227,737 


SE Justice Department 
-
 £77,705 
£56,941 
£86,577 
£127,032 


Centrally Managed Staff (incl. Long Term Sick)
-
 £413,056 
£488,988 
£732,021 
£723,484 


Core departments Total 
£2,359,618
£2,246,603
£1,942,991
£2,878,713
£3,485,495


Agencies/other departments







Accountants in Bankruptcy
-
 - 
 - 
£60,321 
£43,062 


Communities Scotland
-
 - 
 - 
 - 
£221,376 


Courts Group
-
 - 
 - 
£28,994 
£34,449 


Crofters Commission
£65,242 
 £53,498 
 £36,070 
£32,270 
£33,030 


Fisheries Research Services
£77,998 
 £103,498 
 £105,641 
£208,072 
£273,197 


General Register Office Scotland
£145,136 
 £131,081 
 £105,227 
£188,144 
£221,082 


HMI Schools
 - 
 - 
 £44,725 
£78,543 
£119,838 


National Archives of Scotland
£87,398 
 £93,612 
 £75,121 
£131,997 
£191,869 


Scottish Agricultural Science Agency
£79,776 
 £49,349 
 £59,757 
£50,447 
£109,220 


Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency
£140,397 
 £179,168 
 £165,357 
£227,281 
£155,071 


Scottish Public Pensions Agency
£176,849 
 £154,311 
 £112,225 
£207,533 
£198,328 


Student Awards Agency for Scotland
£126,535 
 £74,898 
 £65,348 
£118,174 
£108,584 


NDPBs for which sickness data are held




 


Deer Commission
£14,020 
 £16,192 
 £10,353 
£12,118 
£3,719 


Local Government Boundary Commission
£7,899 
 £6,957 
 £2,899 
£4,129 
£3,327 


Total for Agencies/Other/NDPBs
£921,250
£862,563 
£782,721 
£1,348,022
£ 1,716,152



  Notes:

  1. Calculation of sickness absence does not take account of part time working patterns.

  2. Core departments are backdated to reflect the current organisational structure, this information is not available for 1999-2000.

  3. Proportion of working days assumes 225 working days for each member of staff per year (365, minus weekends, annual leave and public holidays).

  4. Data are for permanent staff only.

  5. Estimated total salary costs use average daily salary across the whole executive. Pensions and allowances are not included.

  6. Average days sickness is sensitive to staff numbers, particularly in small agencies/departments.

Sport

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take action to improve safety standards for young athletes in response to representations forwarded to the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport from Mr Morrison Love.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: The responsibility for drawing up and implementing the appropriate health and safety regulations for participants in organised events lies with the national governing body for the sport. In this case, the incident referred to in the representations made are a matter for scottish athletics. The Scottish Executive has no locus to intervene.

Sport

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional funding has been allocated for school sport in Renfrewshire in each year since 1999 and what it has been spent on.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: Funding from  sport scotland for school sport is available on the basis of applications from local authorities and/or individual schools, not allocations. Since the commencement of the National Lottery, school sport in Renfrewshire has benefited as follows.

  

Programme
Funding


TOP 
£73,320


School Sport Co-ordinator 
£331,948


Out of School Hours Learning/School Sport Co-ordinator
£24,000


Active Primary School (Exchequer Programme)
£90,000


Active Schools (Exchequer Funded)
£304,080


Total
£823,348



  In addition, PE and school sport in Renfrewshire will benefit through the New Opportunities for PE and Sport in Schools (NOPES) programme by over £3 million.

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authority swimming pools there are, broken down by local authority area.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: The information requested is set out in the table. It does not include swimming pools attached to schools.

  

Local Authority
Number of Pools


Aberdeen City
7


Aberdeenshire
8


Angus
5


Argyll and Bute
3


City of Edinburgh
10


Clackmannanshire
1


Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
1


Dumfries and Galloway
4


Dundee City
2


East Ayrshire
1


East Dunbartonshire
2


East Lothian
5


East Renfrewshire
3


Falkirk
3


Fife
9


Glasgow City
13


Highland
13


Inverclyde
2


Midlothian
4


Moray
3


North Ayrshire
4


North Lanarkshire
8


Orkney Islands
1


Perth and Kinross
4


Renfrewshire
5


Scottish Borders
7


Shetland
8


South Ayrshire
5


South Lanarkshire
7


Stirling
2


West Dunbartonshire
3


West Lothian
7


Scotland
160

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many school swimming pools there are in each local authority area and how many of these are open to the public outside school hours.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: I refer the member to the answer to S2W-11318 answered on 3 November 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http:/www/.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  The 196 swimming pools broken down by local authority area are noted in the table. Information on how many of the pools are open to the public outside school hours is not held centrally.

  

Local Authority
Number of Pools


Aberdeen City
16


Aberdeenshire
11


Angus
3


Argyll and Bute
2


City of Edinburgh
26


Clackmannanshire
3


Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
7


Dumfries and Galloway
3


Dundee City
7


East Ayrshire
3


East Dunbartonshire
3


East Lothian
3


East Renfrewshire
2


Falkirk
5


Fife
14


Glasgow City
13


Highland
8


Inverclyde
4


Midlothian
4


Moray
4


North Ayrshire
1


North Lanarkshire
12


Orkney Islands
6


Perth and Kinross
5


Renfrewshire
3


Scottish Borders
1


Shetland
3


South Ayrshire
0


South Lanarkshire
3


Stirling
6


West Dunbartonshire
2


West Lothian
13


Scotland
196

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people used local authority swimming pools in each of the last five years.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: Information on the number of people using local authority swimming pools is not available nationally.

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many swimming pools over 25 years old (a) have been refurbished in the last two years and (b) are due to be refurbished in the next two years, broken down by local authority area.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: The information requested is not held centrally.

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to bid for the hosting of international swimming events in the next five years and which events it plans to bid for.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: EventScotland was established to deliver a portfolio of major events to attract visitors to Scotland as well as enhancing our international profile. Although at an early stage, EventScotland is currently looking at the possibility of attracting the European Short Course Swimming Championships to Scotland in the future, as part of our ambition for Scotland to become one of the world’s foremost events destinations by 2015.

Voluntary Sector

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which voluntary organisations it has allocated (a) direct grants, indicating the amount awarded in each case and (b) indirect grants, indicating the amount offered in each case, in 2004-05.

Johann Lamont: I have today arranged for the release of a spreadsheet detailing direct and indirect grants to voluntary organisations in 2004-05. In 2004-05 the Executive will be providing £319 million directly and £85 million indirectly - £404 million in total - to the voluntary sector in Scotland. This is an increase of £30 million from last year, reflecting the Scottish Executive’s continued commitment to the sector.

  Copies of the spreadsheets are available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre and the Scottish Executive website (Bib. numbers 34531 – Direct and 34532 – Indirect).